Just Say No

When parents became increasingly concerned about their children using drugs, the hysteria over the war on drugs escalated when abuse prevention programs were advocated across the nation, especially in areas of wide drug abuse. First Lady Nancy Reagan hoped to raise awareness of drug abuse, hoping to show youth the dangers of drugs. The Just Say No campaign was the result of this hope, and organizations under the campaign spread to schools throughout the country. Nancy Reagan moved to widespread media, sitting in front of the national cameras and telling kids at home to "just say no." In 1985, Just Say No clubs reached internationally, especially in the United Kingdom.

                                                      

Even though Nancy Reagan did succeed in increasing the awareness of drugs and drug abuse, it is argued that the war on drugs caused mass incarceration, increasing the jailed from 50,000 to 400,000 in 2 decades. As a result of the Just Say No campaign, more radical approaches were created, such as the DARE drug education program, founded by Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates whose ideology was that drug users should be executed. Also, a year after the public awareness of drugs peaked at 64%, people became disinterest and this number dropped to 10%.

                                          

The Just Say No campaign did temporarily achieve its goal of drug awareness, but the hysteria that came with this campaign prevented true policies for the war on drugs to be formed. These policies would be started in the 21st century, far past the Reagans' take on the war. Even today, the process of drug policies is slow, as the country's perspective of the war on drugs is split, but it is much more logical than the no-tolerance programs during the Reagans' period.

How did the Just Say No campaign change current society's take of the war on drugs?

Source:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/new-solutions-drug-policy/brief-history-drug-war-0
http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Ronald_Reagan_Drugs.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Say_No
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/08/nancy-reagan-drugs-just-say-no-dare-program-opioid-epidemic
http://politrixie.blogspot.com/2015_01_01_archive.html

Ronald Reagan's Assassination Attempt

20 years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the nation was horrified when on March 30th, 1981, current President Ronald Reagan was shot while walking on the street in Washington. Reagan was shot in the chest, suffering internal bleeding and a punctured lung. 3 others were hit in the attack: White House Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and police officer Thomas Delahanty. Americans flocked to their TVs, anxiously waiting to hear the news of Reagan's condition, still reminiscing of the political assassinations prior of Kennedy and King. 13 days after the attack, Reagan was well recovered enough to leave the hospital.

                                                 

The perpetrator, John Hinckley, was insanely obsessed with Jodie Foster after seeing her in the movie "Taxi Driver," where the main character tries to assassinate a presidential candidate in order to protect Foster's character. After repeatedly sending notes and calling the actor, who turned down his proposals, Hinckley saw the assassination of a president as a way to get close to Foster. Hinckley planned to kill President Jimmy Carter, but was arrested with an illegal firearm long before he could confront Carter. With Reagan as a rising presidential candidate, Hinckley saw another opportunity to "protect" Foster. Now the newly appointed President of the US, Hinckley waited for Reagan to leave a speaking address at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Hinckley planned to take the shot when Reagan was transitioning from the interior of the Hotel to his bulletproof limousine. The Secret Service made the mistake to allow any pedestrians to stand 15 feet from the president as Reagan exited the hotel.

Hinckley saw Reagan walk near him and shot his revolver six times. The first 2 bullets struck the individuals around Reagan as they shielded him. The 3rd overshot the group while the 4th hit McCarthy as he shielded Reagan. The 5th bullet hit the limousine but the 6th ricocheted off the car and hit Reagan in the chest, puncturing his lung and stopped less than an inch from his heart.

                           

Reagan was saved by his team's decision to go to the hospital instead of the White House, and a hasty surgery allowed for a routine recovery of 2 weeks. When Reagan returned to the White House, his popularity soared with an approval rating of 73%. The shooting opened up the debate about gun control, and Reagan flipped his opinion on the issue, supporting the Brady Act, which fought for increased gun control and prevention of gun violence.

Did Reagan's assassination shape the laws of gun control we have today?

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ronald-reagan-is-shot-by-john-hinckley-jr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Ronald_Reagan
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/10/01/how-assassination-attempt-changed-ronald-reagans-presidency-and-history.html
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/attempted-assassination-reagan-1981/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hinckley_Jr.

Haight Ashbury in the 60s

The Haigh Ashbury in the 60s

The Haight today is often a tourist attraction for many, but in its day it was a hub of a movement. Today there are stores filled with tie-dye t shirt sold by the handful, peace signs in windows, ice cream sold at one of San Francisco’s most famous intersections.

The Haight Ashbury area arguably culminated in 1967 during its infamous Summer of Love when thousands of people converged in the Haight by the thousands. Some historians deem this neighborhood to be the birthplace of the hippie movement. It was filled with peaceful protests and psychedelic experimentation. Many famous people of this era such as Jerry Garcia, Allen Ginsberg, and Jimi Hendrix all live nearby. The Haight attracted a younger generation of musicians, philosophers, artists, poets, and even future CEOs.

During Summer of Love in 1967, one hundred thousands youths came to the Haight. The phenomenon washed over america like a tidal wave. It ushered in a sense of liberation that irreversibly changed the lives of those who participated. There was a promise of the chance to cast off conservative social values and experiment with many different things, especially drugs and sex. The experience of enlightenment in the Summer of Love left a lasting impression on everyone who participated. The name “Summer of Love” was created by the local council to put a more positive sound on the gatherings that were portrayed negatively by the media.

The Summer of Love introduced a new form of music called acid rock, traded clothes for costumes, and made psychedelic drugs sacred. “It was this magical moment… this liberation movement, a time of sharing that was very special,” said Carolyn Garcia who later married Jerry Garcia.

However, as the movement began to die down, the area began to decay. Blogger Jon Newman wrote in his essay Death of the Hippie Subculture, “By the fall of 1967 Haight-Ashbury was nearly abandoned, trashed, and laden with drugs and homeless people. With the Haight in ruins and most of its residents gone, it was simply unable to operate as a hub for music, poetry and art”. The movement had become a commercialized media spectacle and there were many dark sides of it. The realities of dropping out of school hit hard; the hippie idea of “free love” became an excuse to rape, thousands suffered from serious drug addiction, mental health problems or became homeless. San Francisco was overrun with teenage runaways and the Haigh-Ashbury turned into a center of homelessness and crime.  The Haight was once an epicenter of peace and love and youth in revolt.

Hip-Hop

Just like rock and roll is an American staple that changed the world, So is Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop has good, clever rhymes and unique, interesting beats.

Hip-Hop originated in New York City in the late 70's early 80's. Many call NY Dj Kool Herc, the father of Hip-Hop, as he has credited with creating the "breakbeat", the looping of the same short instrumental(drum break) section of a song in order to make it last a long time.(The invention of scratching the record came soon after) Soon after he started modern dj-ing, many copied him such as Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. But, Hip-Hop as we now know it did not exist yet, then came the MC's. Dj's would talk and chant in order to make an announcement or to engage the crowd. Soon MC's starting popping up and making rhyme verses. Hip-Hop was a cultural phenomenon. B-boy would breakdance to the beat, MC's would rhyme along and the Dj's would try to outdo each other to see who could find the sickest beats. Although Hip-Hop was becoming more prominent, it was still a NY thing, it hadn't spread much yet but that changed with songs such as the Sugarhill Gang's rappers delight"(1979), Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock"(1982) and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The message"(1982)

Later on new school(which would now be called old school) rap emerged. Many influential and groundbreaking artist emerged. Run D.M.C. changes the Hip-Hop look and style by dressing in street clothes and their signature Adidas. The Beastie Boys had heavy sampling in their songs and helped to spread Hip-Hop to white audiences(since they were also white). Public Enemy had an interesting style and with political themes in their songs. Other artists included LL Coool J, Female rap group: Salt-n-Peppa, MC Hammer, and Rakim.

Then came the rise of Gansta Rap. Rapper such as N.W.A. and Ice-T would rap about life on the streets: the drugs, violence, sex and gang life in general. Rappers like the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were arguably the biggest rappers in that era, they kicked off the East coast-West coast beef, and tragedy struck them both as they were both murdered. Other gangsta rappers included Snoop Doggy Dogg, Kid Frost, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Gangsta rap was very controversial it was shunned by many and was accused of advocating and causing violence.

Other Hip-Hop artists include the Chicano rap group Cypress Hil, The 9 man group the Wu-Tang Clan, [Criminally underated] Gang Starr, Nas, A Tribe Calles Quest, The Fugees, and many more(too many to list). More Modern artists include Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West, and OutKast. 

Sadly, recent Hip-Hop has lost some of its charm. With the emergence of subgenres suck as crunk and mumble rap, it doesn't have the same charm, the great flow, rhymes, and beats that made it so good in the first place. Still, Hip-Hop Culture is now everywhere, from the clothes we wear to the way we talk. Hip-Hop culture changed America since it is now so intertwined with everyday life.

Bayard Rustin: The Invisible Man of the Civil Rights Movement

Born on March 17, 1912, in West Chester, Pennsylvania Bayard Rustin's early life could easily be called unconventional. He had been raised to believe that Julia and Janifer Rustin were his parents, when in fact, they were his grandparents. The woman he had been led to believe was his sister, Florence, was his mother. She had had Bayard out of wedlock with Archie Hopkins, a West Indian immigrant.

Rustin went on to study at Wilberforce University in Ohio and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, both historically black universities. In 1937, he moved to New York City to study at the City College of New York. Here he briefly joined the Young Communist League to protest the arrest of the Scottsboro Boys, a group of nine black men accused of raping two white women in Alabama. At the time the communist movement was one of the entities that supported civil rights which attracted Rustin to the movement. He later because disillusioned with the organization's involvement in trying to force the US into WW2, leading him to resign.

His own personal philosophy was a mixture of Quaker pacifism, Gandhi's non-violent resistance, and labor leader Phillip A. Randolph's socialism. During the second world war, Rustin worked for Randolph to fight racial discrimination in war-related hiring. He also was active in pacificist groups after meeting A.J. Muste, a minister and labor organizer. The three men planned to organize a "March on Washington" to pressure President Roosevelt to take action in desegregating the armed forces and the defense industry. Roosevelt agreed with the sentiment and issued Executive Order 8802 which banned segregation in the armed forces, defense industry, and all Federal agencies.

After accepting the position as The Fellowship of Reconciliation's (FOR), a pacifist group, Secretary for Student and General Affairs, Rustin traveled from Louisville, Kentucky to Nashville, Tennesse. It was during this trip that he sat in the second row of the bus, during the trip he was asked by several drivers to get out of his seat so a white person could sit in it. Rustin refused, he was arrested just miles before his destination, was beaten by police and taken to jail. This act of defiance took place in 1942, a full 13 years before Rosa Parks shot to fame for her similar refusal.

Later in 1942, Rustin aided in creating the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), a pacifist organization that focused on using the nonviolent resistance techniques of Gandhi to combat civil rights violations. As a pacifist, Rustin refused to be inducted into the military was convicted of violating the Selective Service Act and was sentenced to two years in the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Despite his incarceration, he continued to organized protests, this time against the segregation of the prison's dining facilities. He also aided FOR in organizing protests against British colonial rule in India which resulted in him being arrested several times including in India and Africa.

In 1947 Rustin and fellow CORE founder, George Houser, organized the Journey of Reconciliation, a nonviolent form of direct action challenging the segregation laws on interstate buses in the south. A year earlier, the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation in interstate travel violated the United States Consitution, but some southern states refused to comply. The Journey of Reconciliation was meant to provoke a response from the southern law enforcement and legislators. Sixteen men, eight black and eight white, all members of CORE were recruited to ride throughout the upper south. On the rides, black men would ride in the front while the white men would sit in the back, with blacks and whites sitting next to each other on occasion. Several of the riders were arrested in North Carolina, including Rustin, who served 22 days on a chain gang, a group of prisoners chained together and forced to do physically challenging work. The white riders were faced with worse punishment as the judge wanted to make an example of them, they were sentenced to 90 days on a chain gang. Not only was the Journey of Reconciliation the inspiration for the Freedom Rides of the 1960's, but it was also a precursor to the direct action protests that took place throughout the Civil Rights movement.

In 1948, Rustin traveled to India to get training directly from the disciples of Gandhi who had been murdered earlier in the year. Over the next years of his life, he traveled to multiple countries to help develop movements to promote independence. He also created the Committee to Support South African Resistance in 1951.

It was in 1953 the Rustin encountered a roadblock that could have derailed his entire career as an activist. He was arrested in Pasadena, California for vagrancy and lewd conduct after being found in a car with two men, he received a plea bargain and only had to spend 60 days in jail. Soon after his release, he was fired by the Fellowship of Reconciliation but was soon hired by the War Resisters League.

In 1956, Rustin made a decision that would change the course of American history. After becoming aware of the growing popularity of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his work leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott he sought the then 25-year-old King out. He meant to impress the importance of nonviolent resistance in regards to protests. At the time King was protected by armed bodyguards and kept a handgun in his home. He taught King the philosophies of Gandhi and eventually King saw the merit of nonviolent resistance. From there the two began working closely, eventually starting the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with other Civil Rights leaders in 1957.

Through all his work to progress Civil Rights, Rustin gained both influential friends and many enemies that were not afraid of using his past or his sexual orientation against him. Though candid about his homosexuality and his previous arrest in California, the general public was not aware of any of it. This changed in 1960 when Rustin and King began pushing for a stronger civil rights platform at the Democratic Convention, planning a boycott of it by their followers. When Adam Powell Jr., the most powerful black politician of the time, heard of their plans he threatened the Rustin with exposing his past to the public and went even further to say that he would accuse the two of having an affair. King ultimately caved to the threats and asked Rustin to resign from the movement. Rustin agreed to do so for the sake of the movement and was forced to work behind the scenes.

In 1963, Rustin and A. Phillip Randolph announced their intent to organize a demonstration in the Washington D.C. They recruited the support of unions to participate in the march. They then reached out to the Council for United Civil Rights Leaders, represented by the heads of the six major civil rights organizations: Randolph himself was the head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, James Farmer, the head of CORE, John Lewis, the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee, King, the head of the SCLC, Roy Wilkins, president of the NAACP, and Whitney Young, president of the National Urban League. From the beginning, Wilkins and Young were against Rustin's involvement out of fear that his past would again interfere and sabotage the effort. The decision was made for Randolph to lead the march and Rustin was relegated to the position of deputy organizer. This proved to only be a title as Rustin was involved in every aspect of the march including the creation of the organization's goals:

• Passage of meaningful civil rights legislation 
• Immediate elimination of school segregation
• A program for public works, including job training for the unemployed
• A Federal law prohibiting discrimination in public or private hiring
• A 2 dollar an hour minimum wage nationwide
• Withholding Federal funds from programs that tolerate discrimination
• Enforcement of the 14th Amendment by reducing congressional representation from states that disenfranchised citizens
• A broadened Fair Labor Standards Act to currently excluded employment areas
• Authority for the Attorney General to institute injunctive suits when constitutional rights are violated

In the days leading up to the march, multiple leaders including King received death threats and the Los Angeles Times received a bomb threat stating that their headquarters would be blown up unless the printed a message on the front page calling President Kennedy a "Nigger Lover". As the march started to come together, the more those in Washington wished to derail it. J. Edgar Hoover was convinced that the march was planned and run by the communist party and he passed on Rustin's past to segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond. He used the information to imply that Rustin and King had a sexual relationship, in contrast to the movement's previous treatment of Rustin they rallied around him. In one last stitch effort to stop the march, saboteurs disabled to speaker system the day before it was meant to take place. However, the US government intervened sending the US Army Signal Corps to fix the system in time. 

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place on August 28, 1963. Approximately 250,000 attended the march, about 60,000 were white. They marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The event ended with Rustin leading off the list of goals and Randolph asking those in attendance to continue the fight for racial and economic equality. 

This, however, was not the end of Rustin's activism. He returned to New York City to lead the New York City School Boycott. He co-wrote an influential article, "From Protest to Politics" which analyzed the economic implications for blacks in the changing world of the 1960s. He also encouraged the black community to work with unions and non-black religious organizations based on their common goals. He put his energy behind labor movements and worked as a writer of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. He spoke out against the violent aspects of the war in Vietnam and against the treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union as well as Soviet imperialism in Africa. Though his sexuality had been used against him for years, he actively supported the Gay Rights movement in the 1970s and 1980s, even testifying on behalf of the New York State's Gay Rights Bill. 

Bayard Rustin died on August 24, 1987 and is survived by his partner of 10 years, Walter Naegle.

Source:

http://www.greatblackheroes.com/civil-rights/bayard-rustin/

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials who represent more than just a official of government but a change in the civil rights movement for homosexuals showing they are just as equal as any other human being and are good enough to govern their country. Milk born May 22, 1930, in Wood mere, New York. Having one sibling, Robert, was employed in their parents store, “Milks”; his birth father, William, served in the U.S. Navy and as did his mother Minerva, both of Lithuanian heritage. Harvey came from a small middle-class Jewish family that was well known in the New York “Litvaks” community for their civic engagement. In a website's called Miks Foundation it said, “He[Harvey Milk] knew he was gay by the time he attended Bayshore high school, where he was a popular student with wide-ranging interests, from opera to playing football.”

When he grew up he went to college in “New York State College for Teachers in Albany (now known as University of New York).” He studied math and history hoping to pursue a career in teaching or finance, eventually he was driven away from that direction, but he did become really involved throughout the campus having a place in the newspaper and questions the decisions made in policies with the wars. He did follow the footsteps of his parents going in to a driver officer in the Navy where once questioned on his sexually orientation, he resigned and left his job no matter how of a good position he had.

In the 1960s and 70s when Harvey Milk become more involved into politics and activist in civil rights, he became aligned with anti war movement against the Vietnam war. If it wasn't for his love in comedy theater, Milk would have never stepped foot in San Francisco where with also the increase acceptance of the gay and homosexual community, Harvey instantly admired the city and decided to start a new life there. Where he was known for his sense of humor and exaggerated character. Which lead to him wanted to be involved in how the government was working. He mainly began his political career being greatly known for his means in cleaning up the city streets of San Francisco and promoting/creating a law we still have today, The popper scooper law, where residents with dogs were required to carry around with them bags with them to clean up after their pets have done their business. Later founding and organizing new jobs and businesses that were open and not denied to the LGBTQ communities in the US. He was also able to get George Moscone, the mayor of San Francisco at the time, on board with his plans since he was an early supporter of gay rights and took action. Moscone ended up abolishing the anti-somody law in the city and appointed many gay and lesbian people in high profile jobs in their city. He also got support from a gay neighborhood in SF called Castro Camera who heard his voice and saw him as a leader/activist.

     Harvey Milk gave a chance for LGBTQ citizens to have an open and equal opportunity that many did not have before. He also gave them a voice in order for them to come out from hiding and express themselves because there was a new hope of being accepted seeing that at the time homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Unfortunately, in the end, Milk was assassinated by a man named Dan White, a supervisor that worked with Moscone, disagreed with what was being done in the city of and believed that Milk and Moscone were going to fail the city . So on November 27 1978 White entered City Hall with a revolver and shot Moscone four times and Milk five times because Moscone would refuse to reappoint him when he continued to ask and Milk supported that decision. White was sent to trial yet only convicted for voluntary manslaughter instead of murder so he would only serve 6 years in prison.
       Once the outcome of White’s trial had been released, Castros’ set demonstrations outside of City Hall went from peaceful to violent. There were more than 5,000 policemen that responded and around 189 people were injured in what was known as “The White Night Riots”. Nevertheless, Harvey Milk’s legacy continued and his movement has endured because of what he did as the voice and as a leader the LGBTQ community.

http://www.biography.com/people/harvey-milk-9408170
http://www.biography.com/news/harvey-milk-biography-facts
http://milkfoundation.org/about/harvey-milk-biography/

George Moscone

George Moscone

Introduction:

George Moscone was born in November of 1929, shortly after the beginning of the Great Depression. He was an Italian-American lawyer, was the 37th Mayor of San Francisco, was the father of four children, served in the United States Navy, and was assassinated in 1978, along with San Francisco Supervisor, Harvey Milk.

Political Life:
George Moscone would begin his political career by running to be a member of the California State Assembly in 1960, though he lost this election. He managed to be elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors three years later, however. Moscone would also be elected to the California State Senate and became aligned with a group known as the Burton Machine, a group of progressive politicians. He soon became the Majority Leader of the Democratic Party, and in 1975 ran and was elected to be the mayor of San Francisco. Moscone did receive some public scrutiny from the People’s Temple in San Francisco Investigations.

Assassination:

Former Board of Supervisors member, Dan White, assassinated Harvey Milk and George Moscone on November 27th, 1978, after Moscone refused to appoint Dan White to an appointment in the city. Dan White was convicted of manslaughter, due to the infamous “Twinkie defense,” and Dianne Feinstein replaced Moscone and would become a notable politician.

Impacts:

While serving on the Board of Supervisors, Moscone would use his power to assist a variety of people, notably racial minorities. Though Moscone was a heterosexual, he was a proud supporter of gay rights, and passed a bill that repealed a sodomy law. Moscone was also responsible for the San Francisco Giants baseball team staying in the city, and was the first mayor to appoint numerous minorities to office positions. Moscone also played a key role in paving the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act bill to be passed. Moscone Center and Moscone Recreation Center in San Francisco are named after George Moscone and he served as the Mayor of San Francisco for more than two years.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Moscone

The Automobile Industry in 1970s

 In US automotive industry General Motors, Ford and Daimler Chrysler were the most conquering companies. But in the 1970's they ran into many problems including those of bad business negotiations, endangering of increasing health care costs and competition of foreign countries.

The Automobile industry was one that suffered the most through the rising of inflation and when there was a high demand for bigger cars there was a huge movement to making those but the backlash of the embargo on America was a fall back because of Afghanistan cut off the main oil supply of America. The US went through a drought on the biggest known fuel supply which was part of common folk life. There was not enough gas which was something that everyone used for their transportation. Like said in an article about the new in Automobile history, “In 1972, all import brands combined held just a 13 percent share of the U.S. market. That shot up to a then-record 15.8 percent in 1975.” Which made the desire for bigger and more fuel-consuming cars decrease and look toward the smaller and fuel efficient cars like the AMC Gremlin or foreign cars which were said to have a surprising starting push. As said in automobile article, “Washington insisted that automakers meet corporate average fuel economy standards but took no actions that would have encouraged people to buy the cars that automakers had to build to meet those The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.” This shows that the government had a hard time in helping and supporting big business with the lacking of oil and led with productivity lower because everyone had little access to gas leaving no use for buying new vehicles in the US. This lead to thousands of people experiencing the loss of their jobs in the downfall of Chrysler Corporation.

The second problem companies ran into were the rising of health care prices. As said in a PBS Healthcare website, “Healthcare costs are escalating rapidly, partially due to unexpectedly high Medicare expenditures, rapid inflation in the economy, expansion of hospital expenses and profits, and changes in medical care including greater use of technology, medications, and conservative approaches to treatment. American medicine is now seen as in crisis.” Where workers demanded more benefits and began to be more part of a union's where the wanted better wages and better working hours and improvement in safety conditions. This mixed in with the inflation in the states should be expensive because of the increasing prices of medication/ treatments for people. When government regulation came into face this caused people to lose their jobs for they didn't have to pay for anymore benefits any longer.

The last problem the automobile industry ran into was its foreign competition where Germany and Japan were challenging the US in infrastructure and worker productivity surpassing the American productivity getting beaten. America was not caught up with Mechanizing the manufacturing. They were stuck in the past and every other country was modernize in the technology age. Leaving the country at a behind and standstill because they can't catch up with the other countries unless they take drastic measures. 

To conclude the automobile suffered much through those but had to move past those and with the administration with Reagan, they hope to rebuild and become better.




http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4630187

http://www.autonews.com/article/20131014/GLOBAL/131019959/10-ways-the-1973-oil-embargo-changed-the-industry

http://www.pbs.org/healthcarecrisis/history.htm

Oklahoma City Bombing

Oklahoma City Bombing

Background:

On April 19th, 1995, in Oklahoma City, OK, an American launched a terrorist attack that left 168 people dead, with dozens more injured. The terrorist attack would be the worst attack on U.S. territory until the attacks 9/11. The attack took place at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and the terrorists used a truck bomb to launch the attack. McVeigh was a former soldier and one of the terrorists responsible for this attack and was a member of a right-wing survivalist group in Michigan. Terry Nichols, a former soldier who had met McVeigh in the army, was also responsible for the attack, and was a member of the survivalist group as well.

McVeigh:

McVeigh was an anti-government militant who had a deep mistrust of communism and of communist governments, such as Soviet Russia. After the end of the Cold War, however, McVeigh became wary of his own government, and was radicalized by incidences such as the shootings of federal agents. McVeigh planned to bomb the Oklahoma City building because several government organizations, such as the Secret Service and the DEA, were located there. On June 2, 1997, two years after the attack, McVeigh was convicted and in July of 2001, he was executed by lethal injection. He was the first federal prisoner to be executed in 38 years.

Impacts:

300 buildings within the explosion were harmed by the attack, and 19 children were killed in the bombing. 168 people were killed in the incident, and McVeigh was executed, with Nichols serving 161 life sentences in prison. The Murrah Building was demolished the next month, but a national museum and memorial was created at the site of the bombing. This attack, though perpetrated by an American, no doubt influenced politicians and their foreign policies, and may have been a reason for President Bush’s War on Terror.

Source:

http://www.history.com/topics/oklahoma-city-bombing

The Great Society

After Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory of 1964, Johnson wanted to constitute a new, largest proposal for governmental action since the New Deal. Unlike the New Deal, Johnson's vision of the new Deal a the program to make the economy and nation flourish and not based on getting out of a depression. He was a president who was open to many possibilities. Which Is why I want to talk about how and what was the Great Society and how it came to be.

Through the years of 1965- 1967, Johnson tried roughly to establish this program where it "provided health service to the poor, elderly in the new Medicaid and Medicare programs and poured federal funds into education and urban development". The Great Society, President Johnson’s domestic program was made to eliminate/fight poverty, provide assistance, welfare, aid, and national health service. It was seen as the idea that the government will finally do something for poor people. The Great Society also rests on abundance and liberty for all. To end racial injustice, in which many were totally committed during that time. It was a Democracy for all, freedom to all. It promoted Voting rights, environmental protection law. Funded education, Head Start, National public radio, public broadcasting, consumer protection law, and civil right act, food stamps, The National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities which used public money to fund artists and galleries, The Immigration Act ended discriminatory quotas based on ethnic origin, An Omnibus Housing Act provided funds to construct low-income housing, Standards raising for safety in consumer products.

This massive program did lower poverty and increased enormously civil human rights/ equality for all people. Like in his speech explaining the Great society it also stretched out to help the environment, Johnson did go as far as to passing a bill, Clean Air Act, an act to control air pollution, stop the contamination of the air. Because as he said, “We are ruining our homes and polluting our air,” With this, Johnson stated to Preserve the beauty and keep our earth healthy and not to destroy our environment necessities. Johnson also made Job Corps Operations so people could train and get work at schools bringing good out of people and created public broadcasting and fair housing.

But sadly even though his progress was going off good. He was hurt by the Asian affairs, The Vietnam war, wherein this conflict all the money set off for the Great Society was ended in being spent for the fight in the war. According to Martin Luther King Jr. what happened to Johnson’s Great Society was that the Great Society has been shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam and ignored. Johnson was weakened by the Antiwar movements shown throughout the nation. Due to the falling of the program, it made the black communities, white communities and poor communities desperate because they were not getting support from the government because they were focused on the war and expanding their conflict and not helping their own country.

Sources:
LBJs Speech
Class Documents

Lois Gibbs of Love Canal

Lois Gibbs is widely known for her leadership in the Love Canal Crisis.  At the age of 27, Gibbs’ two children began to show symptoms of various skin, lung, and immunity diseases.  Although her pediatrician first dismissed her as just being “unlucky”, it was soon uncovered that Gibbs and her family were exposed to toxic chemicals that were causing these detrimental health problems.

It soon became public knowledge that Niagara Falls, New York was a dumping site for 20,000 tons of toxic chemicals.  These poisonous substances provided an explanation for the plethora of birth defects and illness that the children of Love Canal were coming down with.  Taking action, the Love Canal Homeowners Association struggled for two long years to obtain state funded relocation.  The state of New York agreed to move the families closest to the dump site, but this didn’t help families like the Gibbs who were trapped, unable to finance their own relocation.

Finally, a breaking point was reached and Lois Gibbs held a demonstration in attempts to end this insanity once and for all.  While two inspectors were visiting Love Canal, members of the Love Canal Homeowners Association led by Lois Gibbs peacefully held them hostage a local home.  They got on the phone with the White House and demanded the President Carter authorize the relocation of everyone in the chemically affected area they had been trapped in for years.

The demonstration was a success: Gibbs and her family were relocated to Washington DC, where she continued her work fighting for families being affected by the 30,000 toxic chemical dumps across America.  That year, (1981) Lois created the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice.  Lois Gibbs has been recognized for her fundamental role in environmental justice.